MJ’s Remark May Provide LeBron’s Spark

February 16, 2013 @ admin → No Comments

Michael Jordan is celebrating his 50th birthday Sunday (Feb. 17). Actually, he is celebrating during All-Star Weekend. Which is what the NBA likes to call the Friday, Saturday and Sunday that include a variety of events that concludes with the league’s all-star game.

Chrissy Teigen is John Legend’s fiancee and really amusing if you follow her on Twitter. You weren’t expecting an MJ or LeBron photo, were you?

And what better way than for MJ to do a little trash-talking. Not quite in the manner he enjoyed during his playing career. But enough to rattle the reigning MVP who possesses the physical skills to be considered as great as — if not greater than — His Airness.

LeBron James is the target of Jordan’s games. Or whatever you want to consider MJ saying he would select Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant as the best player in the game today.

James reponded Friday at All-Star media day in Houston:

“[Jordan] said he would take Kobe over me because … five rings are better than one, and the last time he checked, five is better than one. At the end of the day, rings don’t always define someone’s career. If that’s the case, then I’d sit up here and say I would take [Bill] Russell over Jordan. But I wouldn’t. I wouldn’t take Russell over Jordan. Russell has 11 rings, Jordan has six. I wouldn’t do that.”

There are some who actually might. The Boston Celtics’ success in the late 1950s and early 1960s came in no small part because of the giant role Russell played as the center whose defense and rebounding were among the keys to success. And you can toss in Russell’s leadership and intensity, too.

Jordan told NBA TV: “Five beats one every time I look at it. And not that [James] won’t get five. He may get more than that, but five is bigger than one.”

James’ first ring came last season with the Miami Heat. Bryant has five with the Lakers.

And then there’s Magic Johnson, who favors Jordan over James.

“Easy answer MJ all day, every day!” Johnson tweeted, adding: “If MJ and LeBron played 1-on-1 10 times, MJ would win all 10. MJ is the ultimate 1-on-1 player!”

“I don’t play the game and try to define who I am over what guys say or how they feel about me,” James said. “It doesn’t matter to me. I play for my family, for my teammates, for my coaching staff and I play for our fans, and that’s it. What do I need bulletin board material for? My inspiration is the game I love. I don’t need nobody to pick me or not.”

As for the ring thing, which obviously favors Bryant (not to mention MJ himself)?

A non-bikini photo of Katherine Webb seems reasonable.

“Jud Buechler has multiple rings,” James said of the former Bulls reserve. “Charles Barkley doesn’t have one ring. He’s not better than Charles Barkley. Patrick Ewing is one of the greatest of all time. Reggie Miller is one of the greatest of all time. Sometimes, it’s the situation you’re in, the team you’re [with] and the timing as well.”

James’ time to add ring No. 2 could be only a few months away with King James on his way to inching closer and closer to the greatness that was Jordan.

“I want to be the greatest of all time,” James said.

Given his skills, that goal is not out of the question. And it would seem James has given some thought to all that.

“As my talent continued to grow, as I continued to know about the game, appreciate the game, continued to get better, I felt like I had the drive, first of all, the passion, the commitment to the game to place myself as the greatest of all time, the best of all time, however you want to categorize it,” he said. “I don’t do it to say I’m better than this guy or that guy. I do it for my own inspiration. I inspire myself. When I go out on the floor, I want to be the best of all time. That’s how I help myself each and every night.”

Asked if he had any intermediate goals on his path to surpassing Jordan as the game’s greatest, James said:

“Nope, nope, nope, nope. If I go out and play at a high level, those things will take care of themselves.”

Something says regardless of James’ accomplishments by the time his career ends (and remember he turned 28 in December) Bulls fans — and Jordan fans in general — will remain steadfast in their belief that there is no way anyone will supplant MJ.

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Sports Illustrated offers up its 100 best Michael Jordan photos. To view, you can click here.

Well, as long as we’re talking about SI, time for more Sports Illustrated swimsuit videos (even if all are not of models in swimsuits):

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For those yearning for some baseball coverage, here is some. Yes, the Cubs and White Sox are at spring training and these videos aren’t from anything close to the Cactus League. But until the travel budget for the editorial staff at elliottharris.com sees a slight increase, these will have to do: